Surrounded by family and friends, Frederick Sousa, Army private first class, is honored for his World War II service seven decades after the fact by state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, this afternoon at the Oneonta Vets’ Club. Sousa received eight awards, including the Medal For Merit, the Good Conduct Medal, European, African and Middle Eastern campaign medals, the Victory Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge Award, the Honorable Service lapel pin and the Bronze Star. “I never thought this would happen,” Sousa told the gathering. “It feels good to finally get recognized, and I wanted to have it happen in front of my children.” Sousa was injured while in France and should also be the recipient of the Purple Heart, but due to a fire in the military records archive in 1973, the proper paperwork has not yet been found. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
